Carton-filling mechanism



M. J.- MILMOE.

CARTON FILLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.15, I920.

Patented Aug. 15, 1922..

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. MILMOE.

CARTON FILLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. I5. 1920.

Patented Aug. 15, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

M. J. MILMOE.

CARTON FILLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 15. I920.

1,425,997. I Patented Aug; 15, 19 22.

4 SHEETSFSHEET 3.

' 7111/ ntor M. I. MILMOE. v CARTON FILLING IVIECHANISML APPLICATIONFILED IAN. I5, I920.

MICHAEL MILMOE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO F. B. REDINGTONCOMPANY,

OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CARTON-FILLING MECHANISM.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug.15,1922.

Application filed January 15, 1920. Serial No. 351,650.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, MICHAEL J. MILMOE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements ,in Carton-FillingMechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a checking device to be used in connectionwith thecarton filling mechanism and has for its object the provision ofsuch a device which shall be of improved construction and operation.

The invention is exemplified in the combination and arrangement ofpartsshown in the accompanying drawings and described in the followingspecification, and it is more particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a cartonfilling machine showing one embodiment of the present invention appliedthereto;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the shown in Fig. 1; I

Fig. 3 'is a view similar tojFig. '2 but shows the mechanism at adifferent phase in its operation from that shown in Fig. 2; Fig.- 4 is aview looking from the-left in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Where packages and cartons are filled by automatic machlnery it isdesirable to have some means of checking each package to make sure thatit has been properly filled as it would obviously be detrimental to thebusiness to permit empty cartons to go to the trade along with thosethat are properly filled. By the operation of the present invention eachpackage is individually tested and those which have. not been properlyfilled are automatically discarded.

The invention is shown in connection with an automatic carton fillingmachine similar to that disclosed in my Patent No. 1,177,719 dated April4:, 1916, but it Will be understood that the invention may be used inconnection with a large variety of machines.

mechanism In the drawings there have been illustrated only enough of thefilling machine to show its relation with the testing mechanism, but theoperation of the filling and closing mechanism may be understood byreference to the prior patent referred to above.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, folded cartons 10 are contained in a hopper11 from which they are extracted by a finger 12, Fig. 1, which fingermoves the cartons into filling position and at the same time opens thecartons to receive articles 13 which are moved into the open ends of thecartons by a plunmounted at 23 and connected with an up-' right arm 24to forin a bell crank lever. A link 25 is pivoted at 26 to the upper endof the arm 24 and is also pivotally connected at 27 to a rocker 28pivotally mounted at 29 upon a block 30 secured to the machine frame. Abar 31 is also mounted on the pivot pin 29 and is provided at itsopposite end with an off-set finger 32 arranged to move verticallythrough a notch 33 in the table top 15 so that when the finger movesupwardly through the notch it will strike one end of a carton restingupon'the table top. A coil spring 34 connects the bar 31 and the end ofthe link 25 and normally tends to draw the finger 32 upwardly throughthe notch 33. -A pin 35 on the rocker 28 engages the upper edge of thebar 31 and forces the bar downwardly through the notch 33 when the.rocker 28 is moved forwardly by the arm 24:. A catch 36 is ivoted at 37ona bracket plate 38 exten ing downwardly from the table 15 and a.spring 39 automatically moves the catch 36 in posi-" tion to engage theupper edge of the finger 32 when it is moved to its "lowermost positionby the oscillation of the arm 24. The catch 36' is provided with abeveled upper face 40 so that the catch will move backwardly to permitthe finger 32 to pass when the bar 31 is forced to its lowermostposition. A pin 41 is provided on the plate 38 to limit the movement ofthe catch 36.

A rocker plate 42 is pivoted at 43 on the bracket 38 and is pivotallyconnected at 44 with a link 45 which has its opposite ends slotted at 46to receive a pin 47 on the arm 24. A link 48 is pivoted at 49 to theplate 42 and has its opposite end pivoted at 50 to an arm 51 secured toa rock shaft 52.

'The rock shaft 52 is provided with rocker arms 53, the upper ends ofwhich are normally positioned in notches 54 in the table 15 just infront of the notch 33, as shown in Fig. 1. The rock shaft 52 isjournaled in a bearing bracket 55 secured to the under face of the table15. A link 56 is pivotally connected at 57 to the upper end of the catch36 and the opposite end of the link 56 is provided with a slot 58through which the pivot pin 44 on the rocker plate 42 projects. The slot58 is elongated to extend in both directions from the pin 44.

The operation of the mechanism is as fol- I lows The filled cartons 10are moved along the upper-surface of the table 15 by the feeding devicefor the filling mechanism and at the same time the arm 24 isreciprocated about its pivot 23 by the rotation of the cam 20. In Fig. 2the arm 24 is shown at the extreme left of its reciprocating movementand as it moves to the right from that position the first effect is toimpart tension to the spring 34 by the upward movement of the link 25due to the rotation of the rocker 28 about its pivot 24. l/Vhen the pin47 reaches the end of the slot 46 in the link 45 the rocker plate 42will begin to move to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2, and this in turnwill cause the arms 53 to move' upwardly and forwardly through thenotches 54 so that the upper ends of the arms engage one of the cartonson the table 15 and slide all of the cartons in front of the one engagedforwardly along the table, as shown in Fig. 3, so that they are spacedaway from the carton immediately above the opening 33. This will freethe carton above the opening 33 from lateral pressure.

As the link 45 is drawn farther to the right in Fig. 2 the pin 44 in therocker plate 42 will engage the end of the slot 58 in the link 56 and asthe arm 24 reaches its extreme position the catch 36 will be drawnbackWa-rdly by the link 56 until it disengages the finger 32., thusfreeing the bar '31 and permitting it to move upwardly under theinfluence of the spring 34. The

'upward movement of the bar 31 will cause the finger 32 to strike thecarton immediately above the notch 33 in the table top 15. The tensionof the spring 34 is so regulated that if the carton is empty the forceof the blow delivered by the finger 32 will flip the carton from thetable in the manner shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The fact that the cartons infront of the one struck have been moved forwardly by the arm 53 leavesthe carton free to move under the influence of the blow delivered to itslower face. If the carton has been properly filled the weight of thearticle which it contains will be sufficient to prevent disleft the pin35 on the rocker 28 will again force the bar 31 and the finger 32 totheir retracted position. After the pin 47 has moved the length of theslot 46 the link 45 will move the rocker plate 42 to retract the rockerarm 53 to 'a position beneath the upper surface of the table 15. Thiswill leave the upper surface of the table free from any obstruction sothat the next forward movement of the cartons 10 will bring anothercarton into positior above the finger 32. The slot 58 in the link 56will permit the catch 36 to spring backwardly as the finger 32 movesover the inclined face 40 into position to be held by the nose of thecatch. The mechanism is all timed to operate in unison with the fillingmachine so that each carton as it moves over the notch 33 in the tabletop receives a blow on its lower face at one end and any empty carton isthus automatically separted empty carton. is thus automaticallyseparated I claim 1. In combination, means for supporting a series ofcontainers, and means for imparting suflicient force to each containerin said series to discharge said container from said support in casesaid container is not properly filled.

2. In combination, means for supporting containers, means for moving aseries of containers over said support, and means for delivering a blowto each of said containers of sufficient force to displace a containerwhich has not been properly filled but not to displace a container whichis properly filled.

3. The combination with means for filling containers, of means fordelivering a blow to each of said containers afterit has been submittedto said filling means to ascertain Whether or not said container hasbeen properly filled. u

4:. The'combination with automatic means for filling and'closingcontainers, of means for delivering a blow to each of said containersafter it has passed said filling and closing means, and a resilientdevice for actuating said blow delivering means.

5. The combination with a support for a container, and resilient meansfor exerting a force for displacing said container from said support,the strength of said resilient means being sufiicient to displace acontainer that has not been properly filled but insuficient to overcomethe weight of a filled container.

6. The combination with a support for containers, of a device fordelivering a blow to a container on said support, and resilient meansfor moving said device a distance prior to the engagement of saidcontainer by said device to. permit said device to gain momentum priorto striking said container. 4

7. In combination, a support for containers, a device for delivering ablow to a container on said support, and resilient means for moving saiddevice through an appreciable-distance prior to the delivery of saidblow to permit said device to ga1nmomentum to assist in displacing saidcontainer "if empty but which will be overcome by the inertia of thecontents ofsaid container if said container is properly filled.

V 8. The combination with a support for a container, and resilient meansfor delivering a blow to the lower face of said container to displacesaid container on said support if said container is not properly filled.

' 9. The combination with a support hav ing an opening therein, a tappermovable upwardly through said opening, and a spring for moving saidtapper through said opening to cause said tapper to strike the lowerface of a container on said support above said opening.

10. The combination with a support for containers, of a tapper fordelivering a blow to a container on said support, resilient means foractuating said tapper, a catch for holding said tapper at a distancefrom a container on said support, and means for releasing said catch topermit said tapper to strike said container under the influence of saidresilient means.

11. The combination with a support, of means for moving containers oversaid support, a tapper for engaging said containers, a spring foractuating said tapper, and mechanism for tensioning and releasing saidspring to cause said tapper to deliver a blow to a container on saidsupport.

12. The combination with a support, of means for moving a series ofcontainers along said support, a tapper arranged to deliver a blow toeach of said containers moved along said support, a spring for actuatingsaid tapper, and mechanism for moving said tapper to place said springunder tension and for subsequently releasing said tapper to permit saidtapper to deliver a blow upon a container of suflicient force todisplace said container if said container is not propalong said support,means for separating containers at one point in said series, and meansfor exerting force upon a container adjacent the point of separation todisplace said container if said container is not properly filled.

15. The combination with a support, of means for moving a series ofcontainers along said support, means for relieving each container insaid series from pressure due to contact with other containers in-saidseries, and means for imparting force to said coiitainer while sorelieved to displace said container in case it is not properly filled.

. 16. The combination with a supporting platform, of means for moving aseries of containers along said platform, a contact member arranged tomove into engagement with a container on said platform to force saidcontainer outof engagement with the container next adjacent thereto, anda tapper for striking said adjacent container when thus relieved.

17. The combination with a. Platform, of means for moving a series ofcontainers along said platform, a contact member arranged to moveupwardly from beneath said platform into engagement with the lateralface of a container thereon to force said container out of engagementwith the container next adjacent thereto, a tapper movable upwardly frombeneath said platform to strike the containerv thus relieved, andresilient means for actuating said tapper.-

18. The combination with a platform for supporting containers, of meansfor engaging a container on said platform adjacent one end of saidcontainer to displace said container from said platform in case theweight of the contents of said container is insufficient to overcome theforce of said engaging means.

19. The combination with a platform having one edge thereofunobstructed, means for moving containers along said platform, and atapper arranged to strike the lower face of a container on said platformadjacent one end of said container to displace said container from saidplatform in case the weight of the contents of said container isinsufiicient to overcome the force of said tapper.

20. The combination with a platform, of means for moving a series 0containers along said platform, means for separating said containers insaid series at one point therein, and resilient means for delivering ablow to a container adjacent the point of separation in said series todisplace said container from said platform in case the contents of saidcontainer is insuflicient to overcome the force of the blow delivered bysaid resilient means.

21. The combination with a platform, of means for moving a series ofcontainers along said platform, means for separating the containers ofsaid series at one point, and a tapper arranged to deliver a blow to oneend of a container adjacent the point of separation of said series toflip said container from said platform in case the weight of thecontents of said container is insufficient to overcome the force of saidblow.

22. The combination with a support for a container, of a movable memberfor engagin a container on said support, means for ho ding said memberout of contact with said container, resilient means for exerting tensionon said member, and means for releasing said holding means to' permitsaid member to strike said container. 23. The combination with aplatform, of means for moving a' series of containers along saidplatform, and a resilient device arranged to operate in timed relationwith said moving means to deliver a blow to each of said containersmoved along said platform.

24. In combination, a platform, means for moving a series of containersalong said platform, a pivoted member arranged to move into engagementwith a container at one position on said platform, resilient means foractuating said pivoted member, a catch for holding said pivoted memberin retracted position against the tension of said resilient means, meansfor releasing said catch to permit said member to move under theinfluence of said resilient means into contact with said container onsaid platform, and means for restoring said pivoted member to itsretracted position prior to the subsequent movement of another containerinto position to be engaged by said pivoted member.

25. The combination with a latform, of means for moving a series ofcontainers along said platform, a pivoted arm having means thereon forengaging a container at one position on said platform, a catch forholding said arm in retracted position, a spring for drawing said arminto engagement with a container on said platform, a rocker for exertingtension on said spring, means for actuating said rocker to place saidspring under tension, means for subsequently releasing said catch topermit said arm to move under the tension of said spring into engagementwith a container on said platform, and means on said rocker forrestoring said arm to retracted position subsequent to the release ofsaid catch, and means for automatically actuating said catch to causesaid catch to retain said arm in said position.

26. The combination with a support, of means for moving containers alongsaid support, a movable device for striking each container as it passesa given position on said support, and means for separating othercontainers in said series from each container while it is in position tobe struck.

27. In combination, a support, means for moving a series of containersalong said support, resilient means for delivering a blow to eachcontainer of said series while it is in a given position on saidsupport, means for separating containers insaid series from eachcontainer while in position to be struck by said resilient means, acatch for retaining said resilient means in retracted position, andmechanism for releasing said catch subsequent to the operation of saidseparating means.

28. The combination with a support, of means for moving a series ofcontainers along said support, a tapper for striking each container insaid series when at a given position on said support, a catch forholding said tapper in retracted position, a con-' tact member forengaging a container for separating the containers of said series fromthe one in position to be struck by said tapper, actuatmg means foroperating said contact member and for releasing said catch, and lostmotion mechanism between said actuating means and said catch to causesaid contact member and catch to operate successively so that saidtapper will strike said container subsequent to the operation of saidcontact member. I

29. The combination with a support, of means for moving a series ofcontainers along said support, a pivoted tapper arranged to strike eachcontainer as it moves into a given position on said support, a

spring for actuating said tapper, a catch for holding said tapper inretracted position against the tension of said spring, a reciprocatingmember, means actuated by said reciprocating member for exertingtension'on said spring, lost motion mechanism connecting saidreciprocating member with said catch to release said catch subsequent tothe tensioning of said spring, a contact memher for separating thecartons in said series, mechanism actuated by said reciprocating memberfor operating said contact member prior to the release of said catch,means for restoring said tapper to its retracted position, and a springfor automatically moving said catch into engagement with said 'MICL J.MILMOE.

